Ralph Lawrence, inventor of the MoveAroundIVBuggy, thought he’d retired to a life of “grandkids and playing golf” in 2003 after a long career in sales and marketing, and six years as president of the Hyde Manufacturing Company in Southbridge, Mass.
But life never goes as planned; 7 1/2 months after welcoming his granddaughter, Autumn, into the world, she was diagnosed with infant leukemia. Autumn successfully battled the cancer only to relapse 97 weeks later; following a bone marrow transplant, she needed a 24-hour IV drip.
Autumn, tethered to the awkward pole, lost interest in moving about.
To solve the problem, Lawrence designed a primitive “IV buggy” in March 2008 and, at the suggestion of a Hasbro nurse, has gone on to market his product to children’s hospitals across the country through Lawrence Medical Products.
The company, which began in February, expects to have sold 100 buggies by early next year.
Lawrence recently spoke with Providence Business News about the product and its potential market.
PBN: Love is a great source of inspiration. I understand you designed the mobile buggy for your granddaughter, Autumn.
LAWRENCE: When she came home [from the bone marrow transplant surgery], she was under 24-hour IV treatment, getting her medication and nourishment all through the IV. That’s when we saw it was a problem. At this point she’s … trying to navigate around the house, always wanting a different toy, a different animal … a different blanket … and trying to maneuver an IV pole. It was just impossible for her. She was a captive to the couch when she was awake.
One Sunday afternoon, I took [an IV pole and a doll carriage] and about an hour later I made a Rube Goldberg-[like] … buggy device. And it just worked great for her; she started feeling better about everything … started to eat on her own.
LAWRENCE: The first one that I made, I took a doll carriage that Autumn had and put three-quarter-inch plywood in it to give it some strength. I could then drill the hole through the plywood pieces so the IV pole could fit into the holes securely and hold it in place.
One of the features that we wanted to bring to market was “cleanability” – the plastic bin can be lifted right out and cleaned or replaced. The handle is adjustable; you can slide the handle up and down into four different heights so you can actually accommodate from an 18-month-old toddler to a teenager.
There are only four pieces that make up the product, so [the customer] can assemble it in less than a minute and no tools are required. So when it [arrives] at a hospital or a clinic or a home, people [aren’t] worrying about finding a screwdriver. The tubing just slides together quickly and easily.
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PBN: The cart looks almost more burdensome than an IV pole.
LAWRENCE: It’s easier for anybody at any age to push something in front of them rather than dragging it along beside you. Plus, if you’re thinking about going down a hallway or through a doorway, the legs on an IV pole are 24-25 inches across, then you have your own width, so you have to go sideways. It’s just a very cumbersome process. Most people who see the product for the first time say, “You mean this hasn’t been done before?” because it looks so natural and simple.
I guess I’ve learned … that a child is born with [the ability to push a cart] in their DNA, you don’t have to train them. They just walk up to it and start to push it around.
LAWRENCE: Our goal was to improve the quality of life of the children that are going through these terrible treatment processes and some of the stories are just heart-wrenching. It was really to try and make their life a little better, that’s really our goal.
Secondarily, we’d like to make money, have a successful business. But when we ship one of these to a hospital, sometimes they send us pictures of a child using it … that really says it all. You see a smile on their face, a child feeling better about what they’re going through … that’s the key thing.
PBN: What kinds of projections do you have for the business?
LAWRENCE: If things work right, I think we’re going to have a multimillion-dollar business here. Whether that’s $2 million or a $100 million, that remains to be seen. But I think it’s going to be a decent-sized business that can help a lot of kids. There are about 225 children’s hospitals in the United States and we’d love to have the … buggy in every one of them.
Most of the hospitals have been [ordering] one to try them out. It’s a brand-new concept to them; they want to see how it works.
PBN: It sounds like a great item for people to donate to a children’s hospital.
LAWRENCE: Of the buggies that we’ve sold so far, 80 percent of them have gone out through donations. That’s a development that I didn’t expect; I thought there’d be a little bit of that but I didn’t expect [so much] of the business to come through donations.
PBN: Do you think once the business gets going you’ll be able to bring the $350 price down?
LAWRENCE: I would hope that as we get some more volume going, we’d be able to bring the price down. •
